The Hunger Games: Gale
by TLatrommi
Summary: Gales POV during the Hunger Games. This fanfic is formatted like the book, so you can read alongside with it at any point and time, if you wish. GalexKatniss, please R&R.
1. Part One

Part One

"The Tributes"


	2. Chapter 1

The moment I woke up today, I know, without even thinking, that today is the reaping. See, whenever the day comes nearer, I always have these dreams. They never change. It's always about me and Katniss, standing in the square, waiting for the tributes names to be called, and they call out Katniss' name. A dream it may be, but it seems too real for my liking, and I always wake up in a cold sweat.

I get off the ground and get dressed, not for the reaping, but for hunting. If there's one thing that hasn't changed about Katniss, its her inability to be able to get up and in the forest earlier than dawn. Usually, during that time I wander around, looking for signs they prey was here, and when Katniss comes, she'll keep wondering how I found them so quickly. But today, I might as well try to get something special.

I walk outside. Still dark. The sun hasn't even touched the tips of the mountains yet. As I near the fence, I listen for any hum that would tell me that the gate was activated. I sighed, and slid under it and into the woods.

I got lucky. I found fresh squirrel tracks today, and when I say fresh, I mean that the squirrel-just-ran-over-my-foot fresh. I shot it, and examined the squirrel. There was nothing to complain about, other than the fact that my arrow made the squirrel quite messy-looking. After setting a few snares, I saw that dawn was about to arrive, and moved quickly out of the woods and into the district. If I moved quickly, I would be able to get a good price for this squirrel. Most people didn't think fully in the morning, so I would either get an angry customer who wouldn't give me a good price, or a groggy person who would buy it just to get me out of their face.

I head over to the Mellark's place, hoping he wouldn't be _too _deep asleep. Surprisingly, he is already outside, sitting on a chair, seemingly waiting for me.

I'm haven't said a word and he tosses a loaf of bread to me. Then he gets up.

"Uhhh…" I have no idea what to say. A load of bakery bread, warm. This gift is priceless from someone like me, from the Seam. He turns around, an eyebrow raised.

"Here," I say, tossing my squirrel to him. He catches it with surprising agility. He nods, and I start to turn around, when I hear his voice,

"Good luck," I turn to thank him, but all I get is the sound of the door closing, and then I set off for the forest again. After stabbing the bread with an arrow, I go to me and Katniss' usual meeting place, a ledge overlooking the valley. I see Katniss in the distance and I see the distant look on her face. I sit, just waiting for her.

As I hear her climb up to the ledge, I say,

"Hey, Catnip" It wasn't her real name, obviously, but with the lynx and our first meeting, well, it just kind of happened. "Look what I shot,"

I turned around and held up the arrow with the loaf of bread on it. Katniss laughs. I always tell her she needs to lighten up more. Her laughter opens up a gate that's made of anger and sorrow. She picks the bread from my hand, inhaling the bread.

"Mm, still warm," She says, "What did it cost you?"

"Just a squirrel," I reply, "The old man was feeling sentimental this morning" I remember the incident, "Even wished me luck."

"Well, we all feel a little closer today, don't we?' She says, not sarcastically. Then she takes something out of her pocket, "Prim left us a cheese" I smile at the sight.

'Thank you, Prim. We'll have a real feast." Suddenly, I remember what day it is today, and start to mimic Effie Trinket. "I almost forgot! Happy Hunger Games! And may the odds– " I hear her giggle, and then toss a berry in a high arc to her, letting her finish the phrase

"– be _ever _in your favor!" I pull out a knife and start slicing the bread. I think about Katniss and myself, and our lives. Today gives me a feeling of nostalgia, wanting to just run away, me and her, living in the woods. My thoughts turn into my words.

"We could do it, you know" I say quietly.

"What?" I see the quizzical look on her face.

"Leave the district. Run off. Live in the woods. You and I, we could make it,"

She seems flustered, so I know the answer already, and just try to backtrack,

"If we didn't have so many kids" Obviously, they're not ours, but they count on us so much we could call them that.

"I never want to have kids," She whispers,

"I might. If I didn't live here," I say. In my mind, I think, _As long as you were right by my side._

"But you do." She sounds irritated

"Forget it," I say, in the same tone she used. After an awkward silence, she says,

"What do you want to do?"

"Lets fish at the lake. We can leave our poles and gather in the woods. Get something nice for tonight," We make out well today, and then start off to the Hob. It used to be a warehouse, but its turned into a black market, still busy on the day of reaping.

We get a good price on most of our items, and make our usual low profit deal with Greasy Sae, and then move on to the mayor's house. We know he loves strawberries, and we always get a good price for them. When the door opens, it's Madge, the mayors daughter. I automatically feel hatred right towards her. Even more than usual.

Her dress is made of the finest silk, flowing right down to the ground, and she wore a golden pin. A golden pin! That could feed a family, my family, Katniss' family, for months!

"Pretty dress" I spit out. She glares at me,

"Well, if I end up going to the Capitol, I want to look nice, don't I?" Now I'm confused. Does she really mean that? I don't let anything show.

"You won't be going to the Capitol," I say, "What can you have? Five entries? I had six when I was just 12 years old."

"That's not her fault," Katniss says. I can tell she doesn't want an argument. Not now.

"No, it's no one's fault. Just the way it is."

Madge silently puts the money for the berries into Katniss' hand, wishes her luck, and closes the door. We both walk back in silence.

It really is just the way it is. The Hunger Games always were hard on the poor. If you wanted to, you could opt in to enter your names more times for tesserae, a supply of grain and oil for your family. I, having had to feed my family single-handedly for 7 years, am putting in my name 42 times this year for the tesserae. Since Madge never needed to take the tesserae, I could easily resent her.

We silently split up our spoils, and Katniss says,

"See you in the square," and I reply with a stony,

"Wear something pretty,"

At home, Maggie, my sister, comes up to meet me.

"Hewwo Gabbie," I can't help but smile at the way she speaks. Then Roger enters. He's my little brother, and at 14, he's entering his name three times. I never let my family take any tesserae. Just like Katniss. He's wearing a simple collared shirt and dress pants. He gives a terse nod to me, which I return. He never talks much, but on days of reaping, not anyone could get a sound out of him. My mother probably but my youngest brother, Tim, to bed. He's only four years old. He doesn't need to see this.

I go and wash off my face and get dressed into something similar to what Roger was wearing, dress pants and a simple button-up shirt. It doesn't help that the shirt has become too small for me. By next year I'll definitely need to get a new shirt.

By the time I've finished getting dressed and have eaten, I walk out to the square. I see Katniss in an area with a bunch of 16-year olds, and I walk to the rest of the 18-year olds. Everyone here from the Seam is tense. This is our last year, and we have the highest chance of getting in. I stand next to some of my friends, Thorn, Lawrencia, and Annie. We're a small but friendly group, and today we're all very tense. All of us entered for the tesserae.

"Five bucks says that its going to be me." Annie says. We all laugh. It's almost a tradition. That had been how I met her. We all start to fidget as the mayor starts to read the Treaty of Treason. Long, boring, just like any other speech.

I look at Katniss. She was beautiful today. I knew just about every other boy was looking at her, and every other boy wouldn't ask her out to any place because I would be right there to punch them in the face. Katniss looks at me, and I turn away, because I think of losing her to the Hunger Games.

"Ladies first!" Effie pipes in her high pitched accent.

Effie crosses the podium, digging her hand into the glass ball, and pulls out a name.

I know that if that name is Katniss, I would go up there and kill Effie with my bare hands.

Effie smoothes out the paper, and then she reads the name out loud, and my heart stops. Not because it's Katniss.

Because its Primrose Everdeen.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: Typical of me. I leave for months at a time, and then update with an update. If you want to digitally throw darts at me, go ahead, I understand how you must feel. Hehe, at least digital darts don't hurt. And to my friend that's reading this, WHY? WHY DID YOU HAVE TO? At least get an account and review if you're gonna read it!**

**Anyways, I'm sorry for not updating, and I'll try to speed it up. How does that sound, people? Leave me a review saying how quickly you would like me to review! And on the final note, thanks to all those who reviewed my story! Special thanks to "sophie busuttil" for telling me the right names for Gale's siblings! I'll be sure to fix that ASAP**

**Alright then, on to the story that you all (hopefully) like!**

I froze, and my mind went blank. I felt like getting my ears checked. No, this couldn't be right. Katniss had told me everything. That she wouldn't let her take the tesserae, and she was only 12! Prim was as much of a sister to me as she was to Katniss. _I can't let this happen_, I thought, as Prim stiffly moved forward to take her place. I was about to open my mouth to volunteer as the tribute, when I suddenly hear the choked voice of Katniss, shouting over the disappointment of the crowd.

"Prim!" she sounds horrible, like an animal in pain. "Prim!" she shouts. The crowd of children, as if already knowing what she was going to do, make a single lane for her to run through. She takes it. She runs to Prim, and with a single motion, pushes Prim behind her.

"I volunteer!" she says, panting a little, "I volunteer as tribute!" Though I knew she was going to say this, I could feel my heart drop, and the whole world around me became cold. I felt nothing. With a single sweep of my arms, I push past all of the people, my senses slowly returning to me, I dimly hear the high pitched voice coming from Effie, and then from the Mayor. Then I hear Prim.

"No, Katniss! No! You can't go!" _Too late it already happened. _I thought.

"Let go!" Katniss says with a surprising harshness. At that moment, I took hold of Prim and pulled her off of Katniss' back. She turns around and sees me. I see sadness and tears in her eyes, and fear. Then I realize why she was so harsh to Prim a few seconds ago. My own voice betrays that I am feeling the same as her.

"Up you go, Catnip," Then, before the tears overcome me, I turn around and carry Prim to her mother. I couldn't believe this was happening. So many emotions were running through my head right now. Fear, sadness, and most dominantly, hate. I hated Effie, with her little prissy high-pitched voice. I hated the mayor, as irrational as it seems, for not doing anything. But most of all, I hated the Capitol. I hated the Capitol and their stupid Hunger Games. As I reach Katniss' mother, I can hear Effie's voice.

"Well, bravo! That's the spirit of the Games!" I hate her. She just volunteered for her sister, and Effie is happy to get some "action" in this district. "What's your name?"

"Katniss Everdeen." Her voice betrays only a sliver of what I had seen in her eyes.

"I bet my buttons that was your sister. Don't want her to steal all the glory, do we? Come on, everybody! Let's give a big round of applause to our newest tribute!"

"I'm gonna kill her," I growl under my breath. But something startles me. The silence. No one claps. I look around, and not even those holding slips of paper for betting clap. And then, after the silence, almost everyone, almost all at one, brings their three middle fingers to their lips, and then point it Katniss. They were saying goodbye.

They were all saying goodbye to my Katniss.

**(now, if I wasn't trying to follow the book chapter by chapter, I would probably stop here. Lucky you.)**

Now I can truly see that she is about to cry, but then, at that moment, Haymitch comes staggering onto the stage. He comes up right to Katniss.

"Look at her. Look at this one!" he yells out, throwing a dirty arm around her. "I like her! Lots of…" his voice trailed off, probably trying to think of a word, "Spunk! More than you!" Then he releases her and points straight to the camera. "More than you!" Then, before I can think who he is addressing, he plummets from the stage and face-plants on the ground. My eyes move back to Katniss. The camera now eating up Hamitch's glory, she lets out a small sob, one that I can barely hear. Then, she quickly wipes her eyes and stands up straight.

Peacekeepers bring a stretcher and whisk Haymitch away. Effie continues the reaping.

"What an exciting day! But more excitement is to come! It's time to choose our boy tribute!" I stiffen, but now I have a small voice in my head saying that it wouldn't be too bad to go with her, and then, Effie calls out the name.

"Peeta Mellark." I immediately scowl. Not him. I've noticed him often enough, always surrounded by friends, always talking, and ALWAYS, taking glances at Katniss. My scowl deepens, and by then Effie calls out for volunteers.

I almost say yes. Almost. One side of my head starts thinking about Katniss, and how much better we would do. And when the time would come, I would die. That was the one thing I hadn't told her earlier when we made the pact. That's when my rational side kicks in.

The pact.

_*Flashback, one year earlier*_

"_Katniss?" I call out, slightly nervous, as this was the day of the reaping. All of a sudden, I feel a knife at the back of my throat. I do the rational thing, and let out a sigh of relief._

"_There you are. I was worried about you." I turn around and push her hand down, and smile weakly. Her face is grim as well. It seems that both our minds were on dark terms._

"_Gale…" she hesitates. "What if… what if one of us are picked?" I don't have to ask for what._

"_What do you mean?"_

"_I mean if I get picked, or you were to be picked, what would we do? I mean, what about our families?" I don't hesitate with my answer._

"_I would take care of your's just like you would take care of mine." I look up at her, and her eyebrows were creased with worry. I took her hand in mine._

"_I promise."_

_*End flashback*_

How would I take care of her family if we were both gone? My rational side was still arguing, and I gave in. I stayed quiet as the two tributes shook hands, and are whisked away in the Capitol's cars.

I can't help but think this might be one of the last times I would see her.

**A/N: Like, dislike, neutral, fish? Alright, whichever one it is, fine, but I'm kind of hoping for the first one. Either ways, look at that button down below. No, not the Ad! Yeah, the review button. See it? Its calling to you. Click it. Click it. Click it. Why are you still reading this. Click it. Click it.**

**Can I please get at least 5 good reviews before the next chapter?**


	4. Fin

**A/N: Yeah, sadly, this whole "chapter" is going to be one long author's note. After reading Mockingjay, and seeing the canon ending of PeetaxKatniss, I have lost inspiration for writing this fanfiction. It just seems that going against canon would be completely wrong.**

**So, as of now, this story has been abandoned and is up for adoption. I would like to thank all those who have reviewed my stories, favorited them, or even read them. If you wish to adopt this story, please PM me.**

**Adios.**


End file.
